Wildcats fall to De Soto but see improvements

By Andy Brown
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Updated: September 17, 2015

Louisburg goalie Michael Minster prepares to stop a shot on goal from a De Soto player during Tuesday’s home contest. Minster finished the game with nine saves but Louisburg fell 2-0.

In the midst of a three-game losing skid, the Louisburg High School boys’ soccer team didn’t see much relief in its schedule Tuesday when it hosted Frontier League leader De Soto.

That streak extended to four games in a 2-0 loss, but Wildcat coach Ben York knew what his team was up against and he saw a lot of progress.

“They are a better team than we are,” York said. “They are bigger, faster and more experienced. But we fought hard and I am glad to see that because that is a step in the right direction for our guys. We have a pretty good stretch of games that we have a chance to win and that will help us out because we need points to get a better game in the postseason.”

Louisburg (1-4) played De Soto to a scoreless draw in the first half and both teams had their chances to score. The Wildcats had six shots on goal in the first half and had some good opportunities to score.

T.J. Svoboda, Raistlin Brewer, Noah Juarez, Kolten Ragan and Christian Scholtz all had shots on goal and they were putting some pressure on the De Soto defense.

De Soto had chances as well as it put eight shots on goal, but senior goalkeeper Michael Minster came away with some big saves to keep the game scoreless. Minster finished the match with nine saves.

Louisburg’s Raistlin Brewer heads the ball away during the Wildcats’ home match Tuesday against De Soto.

“Michael did great,” York said. “He has that ability to play that way every time out. We have been working with Michael on positioning and when to decide to come out. That is a good team to have that happen against because it is a huge confidence booster for him. He had nine saves and that was great for him. It was good for our defense too and we are still learning.”

The Wildcats were also playing a little short-handed as senior defender Hunter Mitchell and senior forward Jairus Brown both missed the game with an illness and the team was forced to move some players around.

One of those moves came at the sweeper spot as York moved senior Cale Schneider from forward to help shore up the defense and he liked what he saw.

“We played good today,” York said. “We tried a little something new and we are moving forward I think. We played against a top 10 team in the state without Hunter and Jairus, who were out sick, and honestly it was good for us. It wasn’t good that they were gone, but I think I found a sweeper for the back.

“I thought Cale did great. I know it is a bite for his pride to go back there, but he led us very well out there today. De Soto has some really talented kids on that team.”

De Soto broke up the scoreless match nine minutes into the second half to take the lead. It answered with another goal with a minute left to seal the win despite strong defensive play from Schneider, Parker Cates, Scott Murphy, Curran Conklin and Jacob Benne.

Despite the loss, York knows his team is moving in the right direction.

“I think people might look at our record and just assume we aren’t playing very well,” he said. “I don’t feel that way yet and I don’t see that coming either. We are still healthy, we are playing well and we are still trying to figure out who goes where the best. If it happens to take us a little longer then I am ok with that. I have never been about how many wins we get in a season. We fought well and played good as a team.”

Louisburg returns to action today when it travels to Baldwin. The varsity is set to begin at 4 p.m.

Wildcats fall to Spring Hill

On Sept. 10, the Louisburg boys soccer team traveled to Spring Hill and went toe-toe with the Broncos, but came up just short in a 2-1 loss.

Down two goals at halftime, senior T.J. Svoboda helped bring the Wildcats back as he scored an unassisted sliding goal midway through the second half.

The Wildcats had another shot at a goal when Noah Juarez received a pass toward the back post, dribbled behind the defender and his shot hit the post and went in. Unfortunately, Juarez was called for offsides and the goal was disallowed.

“We probably should have won that game,” York said. “We just had a couple of calls that didn’t go our way. They guys still worked really hard and did a good job to get back in it.”